The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 1.9 per cent in the June 2020 quarter according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Chief Economist for the ABS, Bruce Hockman said: “This was the largest quarterly fall in the 72 year history of the CPI.”
The June quarter fall was mainly the result of free child care (-95.0 per cent), a significant fall in the price of automotive fuel (-19.3 per cent) and a fall in pre-school and primary education (-16.2 per cent), with free pre-school being provided in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Mr Hockman said: “Excluding these three components, the CPI would have risen 0.1 per cent in the June quarter.”
Some CPI components recorded notable price rises on the back of increased spending: cleaning and maintenance products (+6.2 per cent); other non-durable household products, which includes toilet paper (+4.5 per cent); furniture (+3.8 per cent); major household appliances (+3.0 per cent); and audio, visual and computing equipment (+1.8 per cent).
The annual inflation rate was -0.3 per cent in the year to the June 2020 quarter. Mr Hockman said: “Since 1949, this was only the third time annual inflation has been negative. The previous times were in 1962 and 1997-98.”
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